Ohio fraternity suspended for 15 years after allegations of ‘nightly hazing rituals'
The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity has been suspended from Miami University's campus after allegations that current members and alumni physically abused recruits.
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A junior at Miami University and three other students were beaten by the fraternity's president, vice president, and other members, according to a media release by Cleveland lawyers Merriman Legal LLC, WCPO reported.
The law firm said the junior it represents withdrew from Miami after five weeks of the alleged abuse.
The press release details 'nightly hazing rituals' that allegedly happened at a campus apartment.
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Kappa Alpha Psi alumni allegedly 'continued the beatings during unauthorized meetings at a house in a Dayton suburb.'
The junior testified during a disciplinary hearing that the fraternity president and vice president "beat him with paddles and canes up to 60 times in a night, forced him to do wall sits and subjected him to constant verbal humiliation during lengthy hazing sessions, which would often last well past 3 a.m."
Our news partners at WCPO obtained a letter from Miami University to Kappa Alpha Psi. That letter says the fraternity was initially fully banned for life from the campus after a hearing in February.
However, after an appeal in March, Jayne Brownell, senior vice president for student life at Miami, changed her decision.
Under the current ban, Kappa Alpha Psi will be barred from Miami University until March 15, 2040.
Miami University sent WCPO the following statement on the ban:
Hazing of any kind is illegal and strictly prohibited at Miami University. Miami seeks to promote a safe environment where students may participate in activities and organizations without compromising their health, safety, or welfare. More information can be found on our website here. Under Collin's Law and University policy, hazing is defined as doing, requiring, encouraging or coercing another, including the victim, to do:
Any act of initiation into any student organization or other University sanctioned organization or athletic team; or
Any act to continue or reinstate membership in or affiliation with any student organization or other University sanctioned organization or athletic team that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person, including coercing another to consume alcohol or another drug.
Failure to intervene, prevent or report any act of hazing may also constitute a violation.Students or organizations found responsible for violating the code of conduct, endangering health or safety, and/or violating laws will be held accountable. This could mean, among other things, individual or organizational suspension or dismissal, disciplinary probation, or required attendance in a substance abuse program.
We will continue to follow this story.
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